If you know how evo does in dependability vs Audi S4 (older V6 turbo version especially), please post. Thanks.

 

this is too broad of a question...dependable in what way?

Evos can be as good/reliable/dependable as any car if it is well maintained. The key is a strict maintenance program. Another aspect to look at is type of driving/activities the evo is/will be involved in. If you take it to the track every week expect things to break and longevity to be significantly decreased. There is a local evo here with over 175k miles and he is modded as well (around 330whp)

 

this is a interesting question because it's just about impossible to answer.

if an evo is maintained as it should be then I believe it's a more reliable car then the turbo S4...

but the evo takes more constant service to maintain then the S4.
but the S4 which takes less to maintain but costs more to maintain/fix when it's needed

so at the end of the day its really a toss up.

one thing that is for sure is that both cars suck compared to the average car.

 

i have owned a bi-turbo s4. i can tell you from my experience that the s4 will nickel and dime you to death. i really loved that car but there always seemed to be something to repair and the parts/labor are FAR more expensive than evo. my evo has been cheap to run to date. bought it new and have 55k.

 

underhood temps on the b5 Chassis Audis was a real problem. i had many probs on my 1.8t due to all the underhood temps. from coilpacks cooking, to cracked vac lines & burnt wiring, ive been there & moved on. the S4 has even more probs with underhood temps due to the cramped space as well as an extra turbo & from what ive been through i wont be going there again & would not reccomend them to anyone looking to modify thier car

those cars alse use a unique front suspension that uses two upper control arms both with ball joints & those tend to go out round 60k or so

maintaince on those cars is not cheap either, parts for audi's will usually run you up to 2x as much as an asian import

also, those cars are "drive by wire" & that alone is enough of a headache to pass on modding that car

 

The S4 has gremlins.

Every Audi dealer actually has a bottle of **** lube in the service area. When u get ur repair bill they also make u bend over so they can give u a swift kick in ur ***.

 

experience?

 

for me the evo has been better so far. and it has been modified much more compared to my old b5s4. I had to replace the turbos and transmittion on my s4 (all under waranty) where it was just small things with the evo. however the evo was not covered under warranty.

 

HA! i saw that bottle when purchasing my audi & made the decision then that i would be doing all my own work!

 

As has been said, B5 S4s have underhood heat problems that will sometimes cause the turbos to go. Happened to my brother and happened to his friend within a few months of each other. Replacement turbos from Audi run in the thousands (I believe my brother was quoted $7,000 with install because he had no warranty). Otherwise, the car was very reliable. I'd recommend it if you have the cash for a cooling system or upgraded K04 turbos, which don't seem to have this issue. If you can barely afford the car itself, though, it's probably a bad idea.

 

Ive had 2001, i sold it, it was slammed it was awesome ride to move around comfortable as hell, lots of features, but ones i did look under and i saw some oil leakage from front rear diff, i said **** that, and i traded it in. ( i would get warranty unless you know how to work on audi's) Expensive if you want to mod it, they have quite a bit of electrical problems. Weak turbos, -hard to replace them, maintance cost.

my bro drives v8 version, seems like a nice car.

 

I am going to say "ditto" to those that have had problems with the Audi. I have known three people with them and they all had various problems including one that went up in flames. I would say stay away from them. Go with the Evo and maintain it.

 

They are pigs. Heavy and slow. You can spend a ton and have a heavy not so slow pig but in the end they are still pigs. Plus they depreciate quicker than they should.

 

Man, if you guys thought an Evo timing belt job was bad, you don't want to know what is involved with doing a V6 Audi timing belt.

Though I do work on Audi's, I would never buy one.

Someone mentioned the front upper arms? A lady with an A4 came in and both the upper arms on the driver side were bad, and one on the passenger side. She nearly fainted when she saw how much parts cost. JUST PARTS. hahahahaha. They're aluminum like the Evos, so just figure. hahahahaha

 

Its nice car but totally different breed of car. S4 is more luxury with little more kick to it and evo is all about power. S4 is more to business man